Kirsten June transferred to Virginia Commonwealth University her sophomore year from a community college in Seattle, Wash. A year later she is spending her junior year in the Middle Eastern country of Jordan.
As a recipient of the NSEP David L. Boren Scholarship, June — a junior majoring in political science and international studies — traveled to enhance her Arabic and Middle Eastern studies first hand.
“The NSEP offers a substantial amount of money for students studying in non-western countries with a focus on language acquisition,” she said. “I was curious about how such a country would feel to live in.”
During the application process, June joined the VCU Honors College and worked with the National Scholarship coordinator. She also took advantage of the Berglund Seminar Series – lectures led by university faculty and administration, and leaders around Richmond.
Undergraduate student recipients of the NSEP Boren have the unique opportunity to study in world regions critical to U.S. interests.
June chose Jordan because she was intrigued by the program and eager to improve her Arabic skills.
“Jordan is interesting on its own merits, with a very progressive monarchy but a lot of economic struggles,” she said. “It is placed in the middle of a great deal of interesting countries.”
In Jordan, June stays with a host family in the capital city of Amman, and takes 16 hours of Arabic language a week. “Living with a family gives me more exposure to Jordanians than I would have gotten in an apartment with others in my program,” she said.
“Life here is incredibly similar to a student’s life in the states,” June added. “We have a lot of homework and on weekends there are tons of places to see.”
As a scholarship recipient she is obligated to work one year for a federal agency dealing with national security – either the State or Defense Departments or the Intelligence Community.
“I wanted to work for the Foreign Service,” June said. “I am hopeful this will improve my chances of getting a job that I enjoy.”
